Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Engineering Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Evaluating The Resiliency Of Industrial Internet Of Things Process Control Using Protocol Agnostic Attacks, Hector L. Roldan Dec 2019

Evaluating The Resiliency Of Industrial Internet Of Things Process Control Using Protocol Agnostic Attacks, Hector L. Roldan

Theses and Dissertations

Improving and defending our nation's critical infrastructure has been a challenge for quite some time. A malfunctioning or stoppage of any one of these systems could result in hazardous conditions on its supporting populace leading to widespread damage, injury, and even death. The protection of such systems has been mandated by the Office of the President of the United States of America in Presidential Policy Directive Order 21. Current research now focuses on securing and improving the management and efficiency of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). IIoT promises a solution in enhancement of efficiency in ICS. However, the presence of IIoT …


The Trust-Based Interactive Partially Observable Markov Decision Process, Richard S. Seymour Jun 2019

The Trust-Based Interactive Partially Observable Markov Decision Process, Richard S. Seymour

Theses and Dissertations

Cooperative agent and robot systems are designed so that each is working toward the same common good. The problem is that the software systems are extremely complex and can be subverted by an adversary to either break the system or potentially worse, create sneaky agents who are willing to cooperate when the stakes are low and take selfish, greedy actions when the rewards rise. This research focuses on the ability of a group of agents to reason about the trustworthiness of each other and make decisions about whether to cooperate. A trust-based interactive partially observable Markov decision process (TI-POMDP) is …


Instantaneous Bandwidth Expansion Using Software Defined Radios, Nicholas D. Everett Mar 2019

Instantaneous Bandwidth Expansion Using Software Defined Radios, Nicholas D. Everett

Theses and Dissertations

The Stimulated Unintended Radiated Emissions (SURE) process has been proven capable of classifying a device (e.g. a loaded antenna) as either operational or defective. Currently, the SURE process utilizes a specialized noise radar which is bulky, expensive and not easily supported. With current technology advancements, Software Defined Radios (SDRs) have become more compact, more readily available and significantly cheaper. The research here examines whether multiple SDRs can be integrated to replace the current specialized ultra-wideband noise radar used with the SURE process. The research specifically targets whether or not multiple SDR sub-band collections can be combined to form a wider …


Confidence Inference In Defensive Cyber Operator Decision Making, Graig S. Ganitano Mar 2019

Confidence Inference In Defensive Cyber Operator Decision Making, Graig S. Ganitano

Theses and Dissertations

Cyber defense analysts face the challenge of validating machine generated alerts regarding network-based security threats. Operations tempo and systematic manpower issues have increased the importance of these individual analyst decisions, since they typically are not reviewed or changed. Analysts may not always be confident in their decisions. If confidence can be accurately assessed, then analyst decisions made under low confidence can be independently reviewed and analysts can be offered decision assistance or additional training. This work investigates the utility of using neurophysiological and behavioral correlates of decision confidence to train machine learning models to infer confidence in analyst decisions. Electroencephalography …


Cyber-Attack Drone Payload Development And Geolocation Via Directional Antennae, Clint M. Bramlette Mar 2019

Cyber-Attack Drone Payload Development And Geolocation Via Directional Antennae, Clint M. Bramlette

Theses and Dissertations

The increasing capabilities of commercial drones have led to blossoming drone usage in private sector industries ranging from agriculture to mining to cinema. Commercial drones have made amazing improvements in flight time, flight distance, and payload weight. These same features also offer a unique and unprecedented commodity for wireless hackers -- the ability to gain ‘physical’ proximity to a target without personally having to be anywhere near it. This capability is called Remote Physical Proximity (RPP). By their nature, wireless devices are largely susceptible to sniffing and injection attacks, but only if the attacker can interact with the device via …


Near Real-Time Rf-Dna Fingerprinting For Zigbee Devices Using Software Defined Radios, Frankie A. Cruz Mar 2019

Near Real-Time Rf-Dna Fingerprinting For Zigbee Devices Using Software Defined Radios, Frankie A. Cruz

Theses and Dissertations

Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network(s) (LR-WPAN) usage has increased as more consumers embrace Internet of Things (IoT) devices. ZigBee Physical Layer (PHY) is based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 specification designed to provide a low-cost, low-power, and low-complexity solution for Wireless Sensor Network(s) (WSN). The standard’s extended battery life and reliability makes ZigBee WSN a popular choice for home automation, transportation, traffic management, Industrial Control Systems (ICS), and cyber-physical systems. As robust and versatile as the standard is, ZigBee remains vulnerable to a myriad of common network attacks. Previous research involving Radio Frequency-Distinct Native Attribute …


Unguided Cyber Education Techniques Of The Non-Expert, Seth A. Martin Mar 2019

Unguided Cyber Education Techniques Of The Non-Expert, Seth A. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force and Department of Defense continues to rely on its total workforce to provide the first layer of protection against cyber intrusion. Prior research has shown that the workforce is not adequately educated to perform this task. As a result, DoD cybersecurity strategy now includes attempting to improve education and training on cyber-related concepts and technical skills to all users of DoD networks. This paper describes an experiment designed to understand the broad methods that non-expert users may use to educate themselves on how to perform technical tasks. Preliminary results informed subsequent experiments that directly compared …


A Blockchain-Based Anomalous Detection System For Internet Of Things Devices, Joshua K. Mosby Mar 2019

A Blockchain-Based Anomalous Detection System For Internet Of Things Devices, Joshua K. Mosby

Theses and Dissertations

Internet of Things devices are highly susceptible to attack, and owners often fail to realize they have been compromised. This thesis describes an anomalous-based intrusion detection system that operates directly on Internet of Things devices utilizing a custom-built Blockchain. In this approach, an agent on each node compares the node's behavior to that of its peers, generating an alert if they are behaving differently. An experiment is conducted to determine the effectiveness at detecting malware. Three different code samples simulating common malware are deployed against a testbed of 12 Raspberry Pi devices. Increasing numbers are infected until two-thirds of the …


Two-On-One Pursuit With A Non-Zero Capture Radius, Patrick J. Wasz Mar 2019

Two-On-One Pursuit With A Non-Zero Capture Radius, Patrick J. Wasz

Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, we revisit the "Two Cutters and Fugitive Ship" differential game that was addressed by Isaacs, but move away from point capture. We consider a two-on-one pursuit-evasion differential game with simple motion and pursuers endowed with circular capture sets of radius l > 0. The regions in the state space where only one pursuer effects the capture and the region in the state space where both pursuers cooperatively and isochronously capture the evader are characterized, thus solving the Game of Kind. Concerning the Game of Degree, the algorithm for the synthesis of the optimal state feedback strategies of the …


Performance Analysis Of Angle Of Arrival Algorithms Applied To Radiofrequency Interference Direction Finding, Taylor S. Barber Mar 2019

Performance Analysis Of Angle Of Arrival Algorithms Applied To Radiofrequency Interference Direction Finding, Taylor S. Barber

Theses and Dissertations

Radiofrequency (RF) interference threatens the functionality of systems that increasingly underpin the daily function of modern society. In recent years there have been multiple incidents of intentional RF spectrum denial using terrestrial interference sources. Because RF based systems are used in safety-of-life applications in both military and civilian contexts, there is need for systems that can quickly locate these interference sources. In order to meet this need, the Air Force Research Laboratory Weapons Directorate is sponsoring the following research to support systems that will be able to quickly geolocate RF interferers using passive angle-of-arrival estimation to triangulate interference sources. This …


Preserving Privacy In Automotive Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems, Kenneth L. Hacker Mar 2019

Preserving Privacy In Automotive Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems, Kenneth L. Hacker

Theses and Dissertations

The automotive industry is moving towards a more connected ecosystem, with connectivity achieved through multiple wireless systems. However, in the pursuit of these technological advances and to quickly satisfy requirements imposed on manufacturers, the security of these systems is often an afterthought. It has been shown that systems in a standard new automobile that one would not expect to be vulnerable can be exploited for a variety of harmful effects. This thesis considers a seemingly benign, but government mandated, safety feature of modern vehicles; the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). Typical implementations have no security-oriented features, leaking data that can …